The present invention relates to height safety equipment and, in particular, to an intermediate support bracket for an elongate safety line, such as a wire rope or cable, a solid rod or a rail element. Most especially, the invention relates to an intermediate support bracket which is capable of being fitted retrospectively to an existing installation without interruption of the running surface of the safety line, and to a bracket which can be used during installation of a temporary height safety system.
The invention also has applicability in load transfer systems in which loads are suspended from an overhead guide such as a cable, rod or track which requires intermediate supports.
In a permanent installation, the positioning of intermediate brackets to support the elongate safety element can be planned in advance. Usually, bracket spacing will be determined such that long, unsupported spans are avoided. However, it is sometimes the case that a meticulously planned permanent installation requires modification after assembly, for example to compensate for unforeseen wind buffeting in a localised vortex. Temporary installations present a different problem in that the requirements for intermediate supports may not become apparent until the terminal anchors have been fixed.
In the circumstances described above, there is a need to provide retrospective intermediate supports in order to ensure that the elongate safety line is held against lateral movement out of its operating plane, to guarantee safe operation.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an intermediate support for an elongate element such as a personnel safety line or rail, or a load transfer guide element, which is capable of both retrospective fitting and removal without needing to break the element for the fitting or removal thereof.
The invention is an elongate element support comprising a body portion adapted to restrain a supported elongate element against lateral movement, said body portion having a plurality of partial shells extending therefrom, each partial shell having a cross-section substantially conforming to a part of the profile of the elongate element to be supported, characterised in that adjacent partial shells extend in opposing lateral directions relative to the longitudinal axis of the support.
In its simplest form, the support may comprise only two partial shells.
In a preferred embodiment of this two-shell variant, the shells are separated by an amount at least equal to the diameter or maximum cross-sectional dimension of the element to be supported. This enables the support to be offered to the elongate element in an orientation at right angles to its working orientation, then twisted through 90xc2x0, so that the opposing partial shells engage the elongate element and restrain it against lateral movement. A bracket arm extending from the support can be used to attach the support to a fixed structure in its working orientation.
In another variant, there are three partial shells in total, the central partial shell extending in the opposite lateral sense to the end partial shells. The three-shell variant may be a split cylinder having a helical groove extending longitudinally of the support. The width of the groove will be at least equal to the diameter of the elongate element to be supported.
Embodiments of the invention having more than two partial shells are best suited to elongate elements with a circular or near-circular cross-section. Embodiments of the invention having more than three partial shells are only of practical utility if the elongate element has a degree of inherent lateral flexibility. Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that too much flexibility in the elongate element will probably render it unsuitable for height safety applications. It is thought that, for the majority of applications, two- and threeshell embodiments of the invention will be used.